Andrey Rublev vs. Marin Cilic – prediction H2H (19.10.2019)

Preview and players comparison.

Though Marin Cilic has achieved a lot more at this level (comparatively), Andrey Rublev will start as the slight favorite considering their performance levels in recent months. Marin Cilic won the pair’s first meeting in Geneva 2015, but Andrey Rublev managed to level the H2H series with a three-set win in Miami earlier this year.

Andrey Rublev got a comfortable matchup in the quarterfinal of ATP Moscow, and he made good use of it by securing a routine straight-set win over the lucky loser and first-time quarterfinalist Nikola Milojevic, 6-2 6-3. It was the Russian’s first straight-set win of the week as he needed three sets against Alexander Bublik and Egor Gerasimov in the previous rounds. With this win, world #31 Andrey Rublev ended his run of three consecutive defeats in quarterfinals and now heads into this clash with a 1-0 record in the semifinal of ATP Tour events this year — defeated Pablo Carreno Busta in Hamburg a few months ago.

Andrey Rublev would be delighted with this run as he couldn’t win a match here in Moscow in his previous six appearances and went through a lot of struggles on the main tour over the last 16 months (since picking up an injury in Monte Carlo Masters 2018). Rublev even exited the top 100 group earlier this season but is currently sitting at his career-high ranking of #31, thanks to consistent results in the second half of 2019. Only one Russian has reached the final of ATP Moscow in this decade. Karen Khachanov defeated compatriot Daniil Medvedev in the semifinal and Adrian Mannarino in the championship match of the 2018 edition.

Marin Cilic defeated fellow big-server Jeremy Chardy in three sets to secure his berth in the semifinal of ATP Moscow. He fired 13 aces and created 11 break point chances on the Frenchman’s serve during this hard-fought win, 6-4 4-6 7-6.
Surprisingly, this is the former world #3 Marin Cilic’s first semifinal appearance on the main tour in 2019. He won a title and made four more semifinal appearances (including in the Australian Open) last year but has underperformed so far in 2019, and as a result, he dropped out of top 20. Nevertheless, Marin Cilic would be quite confident at the moment as he is a two time champion of ATP Moscow (total appearances- 3) — defeated Mikhail Kukushkin and Evgeny Donskoy (Russia) in the semifinal of 2014 and 2015 editions, respectively.

Match Info.

Competition: ATP – SINGLES: Moscow (Russia), hard (indoor) – Semi-finals.
Start: 19.10.2019, 15:30 UTC.